Error Log: Exposing the methodological failures of REDD+ forestry projects
A briefing based on research carried out by the University of California (UC) Berkeley Carbon Trading Project and funded by Carbon Market Watch. It systematically assesses the effectiveness of the four most popular project-based methodologies by the standard body Verra to generate carbon credits from projects that protect forests (REDD+).
The research uncovered how Verra grants developers a large amount of flexibility when estimating emission reductions, explaining how this has resulted in over-crediting, and how auditors are left with the freedom to limit their assessment to a “tick the box exercise”.
As Verra is currently in the process of revising its approach to REDD+, CMW makes a series of recommendations that would improve the quality of their project methodologies targeting how the factors of baselines, leakage, forest carbon accounting, permanence and safeguards should be considered.
